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Adventures of the Avalanche
Our group has started out as a ragtag group of adventurers traveling to Stoneharbor from the Duchy of Davalon but Fate led them to join forces to fight of the orc bandits terrorizing the mountains. They emerged victorious and later formed the Avalanche Adventuring Company. A Perilous Journey It was the year 486 of the Imperial Calendar in the lands of Aegeron, the Old Continent. It had been almost fifty years since the great Succession Wars that ravaged the lands. From the ashes of the old Imperium new kingdoms rose and life had once again returned to mundanity. But for our group of adventurers an everyday life is not what fate had in store. They all had their various reasons why, but they all joined the caravan of the Northern Gale Trading Company that was heading from Dawnhold to Pinefrost. From there they hoped to sail down the river to the city of Stoneharbor, where bountiful opportunities await those bold and brave enough to take them. But the mundane trip through the mountains turned for the worst when a powerful avalanche buried the camp of the caravan. When our heroes emerged they found the other caravan members all dead: either buried by the snow or killed by the orc raiders that attacked right after the avalanche struck. Lost and freezing in the mountains our heroes were forced to band together. Through great hardship the party managed to survive this ordeal and also removed the threat of orc raiders that were terrorizing the village of Frostpeak. Through this fight a bond formed between our adventurers so they decided to set out and make their fortune together as the Avalanche. With the road now open the West they bid farewell to the grateful villagers of Frostpeak and headed to Stoneharbor. The City of Opportunity The party came to the great city of Stoneharbor with high hopes, as it is the city where those who are bold enough can make their fortune. Turns out the party were not the only ones who heard that, the city is full of ambitious folk who cast away their old life to make their fortune as adventurers. In such a competitive environment reputation is everything and the party had very little of it. Almost a month had passed since they arrived and so far they had only got a few, low paying jobs. Since they were getting dangerously close to running out of money, the party turned to a local co ntract broker with the nickname Shady. He offered some decent work for the party in exchange for a 50% commission. The Avalanche was in no position to refuse. Through Shady the party received a number of assignment: * The party found out that the local foreman of the Silk Guild warehouses was skimming off from the incoming cargo and selling it on the black market. * The Avalanche was tasked with getting rid of the elves protesting the cutting of the Emperor's Tree. Instead of just barging in and driving off the peaceful elves the party decided to investigate the matter and found that the city magistrates wish to have the tree cut because it is completely withered and presents a danger to the locals. Meanwhile the elves considered it part of their legacy as the tree was planted by the God-Emperor himself three centuries before. In the end the Avalanche managed to achieve a compromise where Professor Shomjam from the Roxfort Academy used alchemy to strengthen the bark of the dead tree so it no longer presented a danger to the locals. *The party tracked down an infamous paradiser who recently escaped and murdered two Knights of the Holy Flame while doing so. For this the knights were grateful and promised to call upon the party should they need them again. *The party was tasked with clearing out an ancient dungeon for Lord Ryhel, a reclusive nobleman. It turned out that Lory Ryhel was conducting a secret excavation of ancient Illithid ruins just below the Paradise District. He was so satisfied with the party that he promised to hire them again. *Through Shady the party received a commission from the Roxfort Academy. Their head-archivist, Xaris needed a mercenary group to sneak on to a quarantined ship in the harbor and retrieve an ancient manuscript that was supposed to be delivered to Xaris. She gave the party precise instructions to avoid bringing the Arpenian Plague to the city. Unfortunately the party disregarded them, which led to an outbreak in Stoneharbor. Although the local healers and clerics were quick to respond it still took the lives of almost a thousand souls, mostly from the slums, and almost cost Estel his life. *The Knights of the Holy Flame reached out to the Avalanche and asked for their help in locating a missing missionary in the Paradise District. After some investigation the party encountered the tiefling Barakas who promised them information if they help him escape. Unwilling to risk getting caught with a paradiser, the party enlisted the help of Shady who managed to get the tiefling out in a couple of days. Although Barakas was true to his word and gave the party the location of the kidnapped missionary, by the time the Avalanche got there she was already dead, killed by crazed paradisers who blamed holy people for their predicament. At this point the party was approached by the deviless Rhelora who offered a favor to the party in exchange for covering up the murder. She argued that the guilty have already been punished and the knights' retaliation would be drastic. The party either did not believe her or thought the truth is more important and reported to the knights who rewarded them well. The knights rode out to the Paradise District the same night. .No one knows exactly what they did there but the smoke was could be seen above the district and screams were echoing in the nights for days. After that the knights returned, satisfied. *Through Shady the party received a commission from Comrade Joe the local leader of the Reaton Reds. They asked the party to steal the private wine of the Stoneharbor consul just before he holds a large gala for the powerful of the city and then help the Reatons hand it out to the poor camping outside the Consul's Palace. The party did just that, however they managed to retrieve a few extra barrels, which they sold to Shady on the side. *During their adventures in Stoneharbor the party met a lone, well-dressed orc who was accosted by several guardsmen and an angry mob. They soon learned that the orc was innocent and it was pure racism that led the guards and the people to accuse him of theft. He later introduced himself as Ogrum Sharptusk, an envoy to High Priestess Mazoga of Orchaven. He was tasked with negotiating the retrofit of the two old imperial cannons they brought. However the Stoneharbor Arsenal decided to double the price at the evry end and are unwilling to give back the retrofitted cannons until the orcs pay double the original price. Ogrum was under strict orders to avoid violence so he hired the Avalanche to sneak into the Arsenal and steal the cannons. Unfortunately the party was discovered just before they could make their escape so (in desperation) they tried to use the cannons to blast their way out of the Arsenal. This led to the destruction of at least half of the manufactory and the Avalanche was captured. But as they were waiting for their inevitable execution Rhelora visited them and made an offer they could not refuse: they get to live in exchange for three favors for Rhelora. A few hours after the deal was struck they got another visitor, Lord Ryhel. New evidence seem to have come out that showed that it was the orcs that blew up the Arsenal. Lord Ryhel arranged the party to be released in exchange for an exclusive contract for one year, during which the party will guard his excavation. Once again, the party could not refuse... The Forgotten Truth The Avalanche was saved from the noose by Rhelora and from prison by Lord Ryhel. In exchange the party was contractually obliged to work exclusively for Ryhel, who needed help with the his secret excavation of the Illithid ruins under the Paradise District. For the first three month the party followed the same daily routine: going to the excavation in the morning, checking every newly opened room, removing threats, back to Lord Ryhel's manor. But on a fateful day in the sixth month of A.I. 486 they found the excavation site occupied by a group of cultists, the Children of Light. They were servants of the so called Bright Lord and were determined to destroy the excavation and all who took part in it. The Avalanche managed to dispatch the danger but they soon learned that disciples of the Children of Light will soon arrive to Stoneharbor from all corners of the world. At this point the Avalanche was interrupted by Rhelora who summoned them to the Brass Embassy so that they can "help with some minor tasks" as their first favor to her. Most of these were humiliating and meaningless, clearly the deviless meant to show them how much they are under her hooves. Upon returning to Lord Ryhel he gave the Avalanche their most daring task so far. They were to break into the vaults of the Brass Embassy and retrieve the ring of a former imperial archmage. Lord Ryhel prepared extensively for this heist and the party was able to enter the vaults of the devils. There they not only retrieved the ring but also encountered a powerful being called the Wish Granter. It promised to fulfill a single wish for the party and they wished to be rid of Rhelora's contract. It turned out the Wish Granter can not break a contract but can help the party break it themselves. It then teleported the party to a remote part of the Nine Hells where they found themselves facing Rhelora. But the Wish Granter also blessed them with great strength, which allowed them to defeat the deviless. But to their surprise when Rhelora was lying at their feet she did not beg for mercy and was unwilling to let the party out of their contract. Instead she allowed the party to renegotiate the terms to be more favorable to the Avalanche. With the ring Lord Ryhel and the party had everything to enter the Inner Sanctum of the tomb. They had to hurry as they were pursued by the Children of Light. When the defenses left behind by the old Imperium turned on them Lord Ryhel decided to leave the party behind and push forward on his own. The party caught up to him at the heart of the Illithid complex at a shrine that lied in a dark dimension with a starless sky. By the time the party arrived Ryhel seem to have lost his mind and was determined to sacrifice the party to an ancient deity, the Great Old One. Fortunately the party managed to bring him down, but as he fell his blood covered the ancient altar. Suddenly a pale yellow light illuminated the ground, as if the Moon had come out from behind clouds. The party looked up and saw that the source of the pale yellow light is not one moon but two. But as they looked more they made a bone chilling realization: those were not moons, but eyes. And the darkness blocking the stars was neither a cloud nor a void, but a being of unimaginable enormity. In this pale light they could roughly make out its shape: a winged creature with tentacled head, that looked alien in every aspect, but it somehow triggered a primal fear in the party’s mind. For a moment it was as if Time itself has stopped, then the party screamed in pain as they felt the attention of the being turned upon them. It presented them a wordless question. At this point the party split: some saw fighting as futile and surrendered their mind to the Great Old One while some resisted and. The ancient God turned the comrades of the Avalanche against each other and had them pursue their former friends back to the Material Plane. There they encountered the Children of Light and the Bright Lord who was leading them. Turns out he was a powerful fey who wished to prevent the return of the Great Old One, but it was too late. As a final attempt the Bright Lord raised his hands and through enormously powerful magic collapsed the entire complex, burying the Avalanche as well. The party woke up days later in Stoneharbor. Turns out Rhelora had more things to ask of them so she had them resurrected (instead of just claiming their souls). She also decided to take a more active role in the management of the party (as they are clearly unable to take care of themselves), so she incorporated the Avalanche Adventuring Company and appointed herself as its manager. Furthermore, she found a legal loophole that allowed the party (as the last servants of the heirless Lord Ryhel) to inherit the Ryhel Manor, which would later serve as their headquarters. Unfortunately this came with a hefty estate tax bill of 25000 gp, which Rhelora refused to pay. The Stoneharbor authorities gave the party 6 months (until the 5th month of A.I. 497) to pay this debt. First (of many) Favors Two months passed without significant development when Rhelora urgently summoned the party. She was ready to ask for her second favor: she wanted the party to steal a magical artifact form the Library of the Eternal Fire in Stoneharbor. Stealing from the Library is no easy task but the party soon learned that Rhelora has extensively prepared for this heist and has most things planned out, she just needs the party to execute it. After some well placed questions the party soon learned the reasons behind the heist: Rhelora's position in the infernal hierarchy had become unstable (especially after the party humiliated her and forced her to change their contract) and she needs to quickly demonstrate that a) she is in control of the party and b) that it was useful to keep the party instead of punishing them. So she came up with the plan of having the Avalanche steal a powerful magical artifact for her. After extensive preparation that included elaborate disguises (courtesy of Negmal) and false identities the party headed to the Library of Eternal Fire where they tricked the monks into letting them access the restricted section of the library. From there they made their way to the vaults where (after dealing with one blind monk) they found the artifact they were looking for. They did not know at the time but the artifact Rhelora asked them to steal was an Edict, a powerful curse of the old Imperium, that was designed to bring ruin to the cities around the Golden Bay. Rhelora rewarded the party for their work and this feat seemed to have secured her position in the infernal hierarchy. Unfortunately the theft of such a powerful artifact put the entire city on alert, so Rhelora asked the party to lay low for at least one month. Category:Events